ArticleNature ecology & evolution2018
Adaptation of Plasmodium falciparum to its transmission environment.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 91 citations in OpenAlex.
- AP2-HS and a GDV1 regulatory feedback loop mediate environmental induction of sexual conversion in Plasmodium falciparum.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- The transmission-blocking dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum sexual-stage antibody responses in a six-year cohort of Ugandan children and adults.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Rising of antimalarial drug resistance Pfmdr1 N86Y and Pfcrt K76T gene in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal, genetic engineering & biotechnology · 2026Article
- Experimental evolution of Plasmodium yoelii in single and helminth-coinfected mice.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Influence of genetic factors of humans, mosquitoes and parasites, on the evolution of Plasmodium falciparum infections, malaria transmission and genetic control methods: a review of the literature.BMC medical genomics · 2025Review
- Temporal Patterns of Haplotypic and Allelic Diversity Reflect the Changing Selection Landscape of the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum.Molecular biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Epidemiology and diversity of Plasmodium species in Franceville and their implications for malaria control.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Eliminating malaria transmission requires targeting immature and mature gametocytes through lipoidal uptake of antimalarials.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Mathematical Assessment of the Role of Intervention Programs for Malaria Control.Bulletin of mathematical biology · 2024Article
- Genetic complexity alters drug susceptibility of asexual and gametocyte stages ofAntimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2024Article
- Epigenetic regulation as a therapeutic target in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.Malaria journal · 2024Review
- Mathematical assessment of the role of intervention programs for malaria control.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- MalariaSED: a deep learning framework to decipher the regulatory contributions of noncoding variants in malaria parasites.Genome biology · 2023Article
- Schoolchildren with asymptomatic malaria are potential hotspot for malaria reservoir in Ethiopia: implications for malaria control and elimination efforts.Malaria journal · 2023Article
- Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in longitudinally monitored incident infections is associated with duration of infection and human host factors.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Diagnostic performance of NxTekMalaria journal · 2023Article
- Article
- A rising tide of parasite transcriptomics propels pathogen biology.PLoS biology · 2023Article
- Plasmodium falciparum Sexual Commitment Rate Variation among Clinical Isolates and Diverse Laboratory-Adapted Lines.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Gravidity and malaria trends interact to modify P. falciparum densities and detectability in pregnancy: a 3-year prospective multi-site observational study.BMC medicine · 2022Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 9 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Success in eliminating malaria will depend on whether parasite evolution outpaces control efforts. Here, we show that Plasmodium falciparum parasites (the deadliest of the species causing human malaria) found in low-transmission-intensity areas have evolved to invest more in transmission to new hosts (reproduction) and less in within-host replication (growth) than parasites found in high-transmission areas. At the cellular level, this adaptation manifests as increased production of reproductive forms (gametocytes) early in the infection at the expense of processes associated with multiplication inside red blood cells, especially membrane transport and protein trafficking. At the molecular level, this manifests as changes in the expression levels of genes encoding epigenetic and translational machinery. Specifically, expression levels of the gene encoding AP2-G-the transcription factor that initiates reproduction-increase as transmission intensity decreases. This is accompanied by downregulation and upregulation of genes encoding HDAC1 and HDA1-two histone deacetylases that epigenetically regulate the parasite's replicative and reproductive life-stage programmes, respectively. Parasites in reproductive mode show increased reliance on the prokaryotic translation machinery found inside the plastid-derived organelles. Thus, our dissection of the parasite's adaptive regulatory architecture has identified new potential molecular targets for malaria control.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.